Council hails 'all time low' levels of crime in Hammersmith and Fulham

Cllr Greg Smith, council deputy leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council

Share

Get daily updates directly to your inbox

Thank you for subscribing!

Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email

Crime has fallen by 15 per cent to an all-time low in Hammersmith and Fulham last year, according to the latest figures.

Metropolitan Police statistics showed there were 3,295 fewer incidents in 2013 compared to the previous year, dropping from 22,545 to 19,250.

Personal robberies were down by 21 per cent, from 689 to 542, while burglary fell 18 per cent, from 1,871 offences to 1,534. There were 1,789 fewer theft and handling offences and the number of motor vehicle crime decreased from 2,916 to 2,301. Violent crimes such as common assault, harassment and use of an offensive weapon fell by 278 offences to just over 4,000.

The news comes as Hammersmith and Fulham Council continues to spend £1.3million a year on three extra squads of town centre beat police, while local businesses provide £350,000 a year. The additional money means the borough has 42 more police officers than it would do otherwise.

Councillor Greg Smith, deputy leader of the council, said: “Crime is at an all-time low in Hammersmith and Fulham and continues to fall thanks to the fantastic joint working between residents’ groups – like Neighbourhood Watch – and various council and police teams.

“Extra beat police combined with a comprehensive network of CCTV cameras and good work from the council’s neighbourhood wardens and parks police teams mean H&F is now safer than ever. We will continue to relentlessly target the criminal minority and are determined to drive crime down further.”

The council is also deploying the latest in CCTV and mobile camera technology to target and deter offenders.

State of the art CCTV streams images from more than 800 cameras to the command centre at Hammersmith Town Hall 24 hours a day, seven days a week. About 500 incidents are captured on them each month, leading to 100 arrests on average.

Meanwhile, the council’s parks police officers are using lapel-worn cameras to crack down on crime in the borough’s parks and open spaces.

The pager-sized gadgets use the latest high definition technology and enable officers to capture court ready evidence at the touch of a button.

poll loading

Hammersmith and Fulham Council say crime is falling and the borough is safer now than ever, do you agree?